


Cursed

by Badwxlf



Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Prompt Fill, True Love's Kiss, Tumblr: doctorroseprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 20:03:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12217941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badwxlf/pseuds/Badwxlf
Summary: She gave him hope, she understood, and he didn't know what to do with it.





	Cursed

**Author's Note:**

> _#37 - “You… love me?”_   
>  _#50 - “How can you love me when I’m like this?”_
> 
> From windy-scribbles's prompt meme I found via doctorroseprompts on tumblr. Requested by Anonymous (thank you, you mysterious darling ♡)

She’s spent enough time with him now to understand that it stopped being a curse a long time ago. Now, it was a punishment. A punishment he was more than willing to accept.

He refused to take the role of a victim. In his heart he was a criminal and nothing more—a renegade, a coward—and the curse just crushed him further, enabled him to lock himself farther and farther away. The curse could have been broken centuries ago, but he would not let it. The Doctor would not give the cure a chance because he believed, like a fool, that he did not deserve it.

After all, how could a monster like him ever deserve love?

Rose, on the other hand, did not agree with him in the slightest. She saw through him, and nothing in all the universe could ever convince her that he was actually right. The Doctor was a monster, yes, but only in a physical sense _because_ of the curse. The curse did not reflect who he truly was. In fact, it lorded over him, shrouding him lies. He was a wonderful person, a broken soldier—a hero, even. Everything but what he believed himself to be.

She might not have been with him before it all fell apart but that didn’t mean she was blind. He told her everything—the _servants_ told her everything—she saw it all in his ancient eyes, heard it escaping his dreams at night. For all of his efforts, he couldn’t stop her from falling in love with him, and if he wasn’t willing to go out and break the curse himself she would just have to do it for him.

She couldn’t watch him suffer any more.

So, one night, in the dim candlelit expanse of his study room, she told him exactly this.

The look on his face was devastating.

“You… love me?” he croaked, his voice rumbling, his beastial features contorting to convey emotions he would not allow himself to feel. His hands tightened into fists, claws digging into the flesh of the palm of his hand. “Don’t… Please, Rose… Don’t say something like that unless—”

“Unless _what_ , Doctor?” she challenged. “Unless I don’t mean it? Unless I know I’ll change my mind?”

“ _Unless you’re prepared to deal with the consequences_ ,” he ground out.

Rose quieted, watching the way his body tensed, the way he seemed ready to run. She gave him hope, she understood, and he didn’t know what to do with it.

Voice low, she broke through the silence. “I’ll deal with the consequences,” she said. His eyes snapped to hers. Rose stood strong, unwavering beneath the intensity of his gaze. “I’ll deal with them if it means I can have you.”

The Doctor’s eyes softened. Moving closer, his shoulders sagged and his fists unclenched. He raised a calloused hand to cup her cheek, a familiar gesture, and she leaned into his touch.

“How could you love me when I’m like this?” he whispered.

She smiled at him. “How could I not? Doctor, I don’t care what you look like. You could have two heads—or no head, even—and it wouldn’t matter. I love _you_.”

“Rose…” his voice wavered, vulnerable, and his long, inhuman fingers threaded through the strands of her hair. The gentle way his thumb stroked the apple of her cheek stood at odds with the all the dormant strength in his hands, making her heart swell. “What about everything I’ve done? You deserve so much better…  So much _more_ than this. Than me.”

Rose sighed, reaching out and wrapping her arms around him. His hand moved from its place on her cheek to cradle the back of her head as she embraced him. “You’re so stubborn,” she said. “I know exactly what I want. How could I get anything better when _you’re_ what’s best for me?”

“You don’t understand—I’ve done terrible things. I could hurt you. The war—”

She pulled back, frustrated. “Oh, Doctor, don’t you _get_ it? The curse isn’t your only problem! How long have you been stuck on this? How much longer are you gonna let yourself _suffer_ like this?”

“I killed them all, Rose! You can’t… That’s not something you can just forgive. I _earned_ this curse!”

“No, you didn’t!” She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled, dragging him down so his face was level with hers. She stared him down defiantly, the candlelight casting a golden gleam in her eyes. “ _Listen to me_ , Doctor. You told me it was war. You did what you could in an impossible situation where all the odds were stacked against you—you were a soldier fighting for the future. You’re in debt for a price that wasn’t yours to pay.” Her voice softened. “Don’t hate yourself for this. God, Doctor, please. Let me love you.”

The Doctor sucked in a ragged breath, his gaze glued to hers. He was struck. An ancient beast bested by a human girl. “I… I’ve been alone for so long,” he murmured.

“But now there’s me,” Rose smiled.

A single tear fell down the Doctor’s cheek. He tilted his head forward so their foreheads met and he closed his eyes. “Okay,” he breathed. “Alright. I might never understand what you see in me, but I trust you, Rose. My precious girl.”

“Finally,” she whispered. Releasing his jacket, she draped her arms over his shoulders and pressed closer to him. He shifted so he held her securely by the waist and she sighed. “Finally.”

Closing the distance between them, Rose pressed her lips to his in a kiss. A kiss that was so much more than just a kiss. It was relief. Comfort. A promise. Chaste at first, they soon found themselves melting into each other, abandoning their hesitance and just relishing in the feeling of finally letting go. Then the world turned gold.

Pulling away, Rose watched as light swirled around the Doctor in a flurry of magic, illuminating the room in the way a candle never could. When he opened his eyes he revealed the vortex within them, bursting with a brilliance beyond anything Rose could ever comprehend. Vaguely, she almost thought she could hear singing.

The Doctor convulsed and groaned in pain. His arm shot up to grasp at his chest and he stumbled back, bracing himself against a desk. In mere seconds the golden light consumed him. Rose instinctively shielded herself from the onslaught.

When the light faded, a stranger stood before her—someone she’s only ever glimpsed in torn remnants of discarded paintings. Gone were the claws and mutilated skin. The monster was no more, and in his place stood a man.

He blinked blearily before her, collapsing onto his knees, prompting Rose to rush over in support. He regarded her weakly and Rose gently cupped his cheek, the tips of her fingers brushing lightly against the bristles of his close-cropped hair. A different face with the same features: the same blue eyes, the same expressions. So new, yet so familiar.

Rose felt fondness flood her heart. This was him. The one she loved.

“My Doctor,” she smiled.


End file.
